'Can they do it again?' How Louisville volleyball is handling its highest expectations yet

Arriving in Arraial do Cabo, Brazil, at the tail end of an undefeated exhibition tour in June, Aiko Jones said she and other members of the Louisville volleyball team threw their bags in their rooms, went down to the beach and ran into the Atlantic Ocean.

"The waves were crashing into us," said Jones, a sixth-year opposite hitter. "It was the most carefree day maybe I've had all summer."

Jones is trying to hold onto that feeling, because U of L's 2023 season begins Friday against Troy at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena — and after a 31-3 run last winter that ended with an NCAA runner-up finish and the program's second consecutive Final Four, the Cardinals are bringing lofty expectations with them.

They're ranked fourth in the first AVCA/Taraflex poll of the new campaign. They're favorites to win the ACC for a second year in a row after sharing the 2022 title with Pittsburgh. Their schedule features eight games against six preseason top-25 teams.

Yet Jones said they "don't really think about" that kind of pressure, because it's the kind "everyone else is wanting to put on you."

"Everyone's like, 'Oh, can they do it again?'" Jones said. "For us, it's more like, 'We know what we're capable of.'"

Added senior Anna DeBeer, "We know what it's going to take to get there; and we're hungry for more."

The first step on Louisville's quest for a third straight Final Four berth, DeBeer said, is not comparing itself to last year's squad, which remains relatively enact aside from three graduating All-Americans: Claire Chaussee, Raquel Lazaro and Amaya Tillman.

Seventh-year head coach Dani Busboom Kelly has five preseason all-ACC players at her disposal — Jones, DeBeer, senior Phekran Kong and juniors Elena Scott and Charitie Luper, a UCLA transfer. From there, Busboom Kelly said she will throw her underclassmen into the mix early and often, because "we're going to need potentially more players than we've had in the past to contribute late in the year."

That's why this summer's trip to Brazil was crucial. Before stepping on campus for preseason camp, the core of returning starters and rotation players got to gel with the newcomers on and off the court while going up against scrappy opponents in a foreign environment. Busboom Kelly and her staff, meanwhile, took advantage of the lower stakes by toying around with the lineup.

"There could be some opportunities to run, not a different system, but to be a little more creative from a coaching standpoint," she said. "I'm kind of excited just for the flexibility, to feel like we can truly do that."

The schedule, however, offers very little wiggle room.

As part of its annual Cardinal Classic, Louisville will go up against No. 21 Washington State at 7 p.m. Saturday, less than 24 hours after the season opener against Troy comes to an end. In ACC play, it has home-and-home series against No. 20 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Pitt, which should be out for revenge after falling in five sets to the Cardinals in the Final Four.

Most importantly, there's a grueling seven-day stretch in September that more closely resembles the final three rounds of the NCAA tournament. U of L wraps up its nonconference slate with nationally televised matches against No. 8 Penn State (Sept. 10) at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena and No. 10 Kentucky (Sept. 13) and No. 3 Stanford (Sept. 17) at the KFC Yum! Center as part of ESPN's most expansive regular-season volleyball coverage to date.

Busboom Kelly welcomes the challenge as a way to push both her team and interest in the game to new heights.

"I think part of being a great program and a top program is the responsibility to continue to move the sport forward," she said. "If we can't get more eyes on us, that's not really moving the sport forward."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville volleyball 'hungry' for third straight NCAA Final Four trip